The Logico-semantic Relation of Projection in the Short Story 'Ghost'

This is a study on the logico- semantic relations of projection as used in the short story 'Ghosts' by Chimamanda Adichie. Studies have been carried out on the use of projection in texts. There is, however, limited study on the use of projection as a means of communicating the author's ideas in short stories yet projection is widely used to develop themes in short stories. This study, therefore, aims at discussing the use of projection and its contribution towards the delivery of the intended message in the short story 'Ghost'. The study is guided by the systemic Functional Grammar theory as proposed by Halliday and Matthiessen [1]. The descriptive method of the qualitative approach was utilized to analyze the data collected. Purposeful sampling was useful in selecting the specific clause complexes for analysis from the short story. A total of one hundred and eighty-nine clause complexes exhibiting the logico-semantic relations of projection were sampled. Both Locution and idea were found in the text. The findings revealed that logico-semantic relations of projection are instrumental in divulging the thoughts, feelings, opinions and emotions of characters in short stories. This study is expected to be useful in contributing to knowledge in Systemic Functional theory; in particular clause complexing.